Moxie Girl Musings: a widow, an empty-nester, an entrepreneur, a woman starting life over from square one

About Moxie Girl Musings

Moxie Girl Musings is about starting over from square one after tragedy impacted my young family. It's filled with stories of triumph, struggle, snafus, hopes, and dreams. Sometimes there will be features from other writers that I like and every so often I'll include an original short story, but normally I simply write what's on my mind at the time. Welcome to my unfiltered true-life story as I figure out this thing called life. http://www.amberleaeaston.com

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Power...it's a heady drug #SneakPeek #RomanticSuspense

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Sneak peek of the upcoming new release, One True Thing, a romantic thriller full of passion, action, and suspense...

Available at all distributors worldwide on March 22 Follow Amber Lea Easton on Facebook to be the first to know when One True Thing is available

"I
haven't slept like that in a long time," he admitted against her ear.
"How about we spend the whole day in bed? I'm already playing hooky, might
as well make it count."

She
giggled when his fingers slipped beneath the robe and tickled her.
"Nic—"

"Vanessa."
He nipped her neck.

"Shouldn't
you—"

"No,
whatever it is you're about to say, no." He laughed against her skin, his
hair brushing against her cheek like a caress. He raised his head enough to
look her in the eye. "I have no idea where my cellphone is...do you
realize that I haven't gone a day without it glued to me since I can't remember
when? I have no idea where it is and I honestly don't give a damn."

"But
Pam...?" She arched an eyebrow and squirmed when he tickled her again.
"Okay, I'll stop, I surrender."

"No
more talking? No more mentioning Pam?"

"You're
a tyrant." She hit his shoulder and smiled at the feel of his erection
pressing against her hip. "A horny tyrant."

"I've
been called worse." He shrugged and kissed her chin.

The
slamming of the door startled them both. Nic rolled away, pulling the sheet
over him while she scooted up on the pillows and tried desperately not to
panic.

"Ms.
Warren!" Simon stood at the foot of the bed, gun drawn.

"Oh,
holy hell, now what is the problem?" she asked, trying to slow her
heartbeat.

"Securing
the room. Don't move." He banged open the bathroom door.

Dominic
squinted at Simon's back. "Now what's happening? I think I'm going to fire
someone today if our security sucks this bad that even the US Secret Service is
jumpy."

Her
eyes widened as even more security invaded the suite — complete with a
bomb-sniffing dog.

Dominic
leapt from the bed and pulled on his discarded tuxedo pants. He stood tall when
Special Agent Clarence entered the room with an air of caution, gaze
effectively freezing him in place.

"I'm
Dominic Piazza—"

"We
all know who you are," Clarence interrupted before sliding his gaze to
hers.

"Let
them do their thing, Nic," she advised with a self-conscious smile.

Resting
her chin on a sheet-covered knee, she grinned at Nic's tan line — or more
specifically the tan lines that began at this lower hip where the unbuttoned
tuxedo pants slacked lower as he moved across the room. Black hair a mess from
their frenzied lovemaking, he looked like temptation personified.

"We
arrested two men who had gained access to an empty room directly below
yours," Clarence finally said after Simon gave him a signal that the suite
had been judged safe. "It appears that they had some inside information as
to exactly where you were staying—as in this room—and—"

"Someone
is definitely getting fired today," Nic said, hands on his hips and
looking like the man in charge despite his lack of clothing.

"We
have direct evidence linking them to the gallery fire. We think they are the
ones who not only set the fire, staged the distraction last night, but were
also the men we saw in the stairwell. They were beneath you the entire time."
Sadness crossed Clarence's face when he met her gaze. "I'm sorry,
Vanessa."

She
ignored the reference to her destroyed sculptures and absorbed this new
information. "They were in the room below me all night?"

"No
sign of any cameras or any recording devices at all," another agent said
from the living area.

"Your
brother has made a statement earlier on CNN — the Spanish government is
concerned —"

"Oh,
God, no, just stop." She couldn't take it anymore, all the chaos, the
destruction, the uncertainty. "I suppose you're going to tell me that I'm
being evicted from Spain?"

"No."
Clarence smiled a little at that. "But they are giving us their
unconditional support."

"Yeah,
he called, never said anything about speaking to the Spanish government"

"He
doesn't know that we apprehended the two men just now—"

"Oh,
who cares who knows what at this point?"She felt like a caged animal. "How long is this going to take? If
you've caught them, aren't we a step closer to being done with all of this? Who
are these people? Have they talked? Do you know who they are or who they are
affiliated with? What do they want? Why burn down the gallery and destroy my
sculptures?"

"Vanessa—"

"Just
go, Clarence. Thanks for all that you do, but just go."

"You
can't pull any of your stunts so don't think about it."

Nic
looked over his shoulder at that and raised an eyebrow.

"Stunts
like yesterday...my motorcycle ride in the country." She smiled when she
met his gaze. "It was worth the risk, don't you think?"

He
smiled without saying anything — but the warmth in his eyes told her
everything.

"There's
no one here except Dominc and he's had plenty of opportunity to kill me."
She gestured wide with her hands. "And yet here I am...alive and
well-satisfifed if you know what I mean."

"I
know what you mean." Clarence shook his head and looked directly at Nic.
"I'm not sure why or how you have inserted yourself into her life, but
we're going to need to put a security detail on you as well until we have
control of this situation."

Oh, here it goes...the thing that will drive him
away.

"Whatever
you need to do. I assume by now you have a full background check on me so I
don't need to fill in any blanks," he said instead. "Let me know how
I can help."

"These
people are getting bolder by the minute," Clarence said to Nic, "make
her understand that. You seem to be the only one who she's cooperating with
these days."

"I'm
confident she understands," Nic replied.

Annoyed
at being spoken about in the third person, she moved past Clarence and eyed the
bomb sniffing dog with suspicion before picking up the hotel phone to order
room service. Limbs ached in all the right places and she'd worked up one
helluva an appetite. Nerves always made her hungry. If it wasn't for her
Pilates and forgetting to eat when immersed in work, she'd be about five
hundred pounds from stress eating alone. Pastries were her downfall—and right
now she was definitely stressed.

"I'm
not at liberty to share all the details, but we have reason to believe she is
no longer safe here," Clarence said, moving into the room. "The house
will be finished today, Vanessa."

"I'll
make sure Cleo makes arrangements to move us."

"Best
to keep this quiet, no big production. Keep what you have here, maintain the
illusion that you are staying at the hotel until further notice."

A
chill ran down her spine at the glimmer of fear she witnessed in her dear
friend and protector's eyes before he glanced away. Until a few months ago, she
hadn't seen him in years. There'd been no danger and she'd been a grown woman
with private security when she'd needed it — definitely no need for Secret
Service. But when the trouble started and a possible threat against her family
intensified, Clarence had volunteered to head up her detail. Seeing him, a
seasoned agent, show even a flicker of fear hammered home the severity of the crisis.

"I
think both myself and the general manager need to be looped into this
situation, Special Agent. If there are security loopholes, then we need to
address them on our end as well."

"We're
handling it."

"I
have fourteen floors of other guests. I need—"

"She
will be out of here today."

"But
whoever is behind this won't know that, right? That's what you just said."
Nic squared off with Clarence. "This isn't just a building or a business
to me. I spent years pouring my creative vision into the Casa Magnifico
and—"

"I
understand." Clarence cut him off with an exasperated slice of his hand
through the air. "Can you be available for a briefing in your GM's office
in an hour? We have Spanish government agents arriving then as well."

"I'll
be there." He glanced at her, face expressionless. "Alone."

She
nodded and clenched the phone as she ordered enough food to feed an army. She
fought the urge to scream. Two years of her life had gone up in smoke during
the night, every inch of her life was being scrutinized, her every move would
be monitored like a prisoner until these bastards were caught and all she could
do was nod and order room service like a fool.

But
the Secret Service and the powers that be had made up their minds. She knew the
drill. Bend. Tow the line. Suck it up.

"I'll
see you soon then. Take the car that we have for you — bulletproof glass. Don't
take any chances." Clarence looked between them both before motioning for
the other agents to clear the room.

Nic
dropped his hands to her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "I wish
we'd had time to wake up together."

She
sighed at his softly spoken words and turned to look up at him. "Why are
you so great? I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. No one is this nice."

He
smoothed his hands down her silk robe and caught his lower lip between his
teeth. "What can I do to prove my loyalty?"

"On
your knees boy..." she whispered, her mood lightening.

"Happy
to do whatever it takes." He winked, his hands pushing the robe open to
touch her breasts.

She
skimmed her hands over his shoulders, well-defined from the physical labor of
his job. With wicked thoughts, she decided then and there that he could easily
be a playgirl model between his muscle definition and...other assets.

“You told me last night that you weren't a
very nice guy.” She nipped his chin with her teeth.

"You
bring out another side of me.”

“Room
service is on the way—can you let them in? I need a shower.” She walked away
and dropped the robe as she went.

“You
have a tattoo.”

“Just
now noticing?” She patted the black outline of a howling wolf that rested low
on the curve of her hip. “That surprises me after the thorough examination you
gave my body last night.”With a wink
over her shoulder, she walked to the bathroom.

Closing
the door, she fisted her hands in the hair at her temple and frowned. Too much
had happened in too short of a time. Her brain felt fried—as if on information
overload.

“Mind
if I join you?” Nic asked, sticking his head inside the door. “You okay?”

“Yes,
to both questions.”She grabbed his hand
and yanked him inside the room with her.She linked her hands behind his neck and nuzzled against his face as he
lifted her and walked them toward the shower.

Self-doubt
had never been an issue for her. If anything, she'd been accused of
over-confidence more than once. But, now, despite the heat of his body steaming
up the shower, trepidation thumped beneath her skin and self-preservation
undermined the moment.

She
wrapped her arms around his shoulders and simply hugged him close with the water
falling over them like a downpour.

"This
is not my
normal, Dominic, not anymore," she whispered. "Not too long ago, I
lived in a rented chalet in France where I sculpted and ate dinner every night
in the same restaurant with locals who joked with me about needing some romance
in my life."

"Then
what changed?"

She
tipped her head back and squinted against the water. Here, locked in his arms,
naked, completely isolated, she felt safe saying the one thing she couldn't
shake, "What changed? My brother decided to campaign for president."

"You
think this is related?" He frowned and framed her face between the palms
of his hands.

"Every
time information is leaked about me...his poll numbers rise. Even an ocean
away, I'm an asset. I think someone wants to use me as leverage." She held
her breath, waiting for him to dismiss her as a narcissist who thought the
world revolved around her.

But he
didn't. He kissed her, slowly, and for the first time in years, she felt like
she had an ally.

From the back cover...

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One little lie leads to a whole lot of trouble.

Reclusive international resort developer, Dominic Piazza,
needs a date to ward off his matchmaking parents. When he persuades the
notorious Vanessa Warren to play his girlfriend for the night, he has no idea
he's stepped into the crosshairs of kidnappers who will do anything—destroy
everything—to get to her.

Power...it's a heady drug.

Vanessa Warren is America's favorite rebel. Daughter and
granddaughter of US Presidents and sister to a future one, her family
connections and notoriety are seen as leverage for manipulating the White
House—if she's captured.

One true thing...

Trapped in a rapidly escalating international terror plot,
Dominic and Vanessa's lie becomes the only real thing in the midst of betrayals,
conspiracies, and murder. As their world falls apart, they suddenly only have
each other to rely on against ruthless people who will stop at nothing to
achieve their goal. Who can they trust? Who is behind the plot—her own family,
a political rival of her family's, or a terrorist organization? How far will the
kidnappers go—what will they be willing to sacrifice—to control the power of
the White House? Is there anywhere in the world where they can find safety?

Available at all distributors worldwide on March 22 Follow Amber Lea Easton on Facebook to be the first to know when One True Thing is available

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